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Willie Simmons college coaching career has culminated with his appointment at Florida International University. ESPN College Football reporter Pete Thamel revealed that the Panthers had agreed to a four-year deal with Simmons to lead the program following the departure of Mike McIntyre. Simmons is a tenured coach that has has varied experiences as a coordinator, assistant coach and head coach that's brought success everyone here's been.
Simmons’ resume already makes him a standout hire, but it’s his ambitions for growth in his coaching career that position him as a future success for FIU. In an exclusive interview with Vaughn Wilson of HBCU Gameday following his departure from Florida A&M, he spoke about his desires for his coaching future.
“Throughout my coaching career, I've checked many boxes. I've been a play caller, a head coach, and even won a championship. I've successfully guided players to the NFL and recruited at a high level. With all these accomplishments, there is still one box left unchecked on my resume – being an FBS football coach at the Power Five level. While I have coached at the mid-major level, I aspire to have a national platform and lead young men on a larger scale, making an impact in college football beyond just the HBCU landscape. Taking this step is pivotal for me and that's exactly why I'm taking it.”
Simmons built an impressive track record of success at the HBCU level, establishing himself as one of the most prominent figures in the sport. He joined Florida A&M in 2018, guiding the Rattlers to winning seasons each year he's been at the helm of the program. He is 45-13 in his tenure at FAMU and led the Rattlers during a transition from the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Florida A&M has only lost two games since the move to the SWAC, both to the Deion Sanders-led Jackson State Tigers in 2021 (7-5) and 2022 (59-3).
Before Florida A&M, he coached at Prairie View A&M and led them to three consecutive winning seasons and coached the Panthers to becoming one of the most explosive offenses in the SWAC at 44.9 points per game in his first season. But, Simmons's talent didn't lead to him getting a FBS coaching opportunity immediately. Even his experience a the FBS level before Duke at Clemson and Middle Tennessee State wasn't enough to get him in the door at the Power Five or Group of Five level.
In a January interview with The Athletic's Jim Trotter, Simmons revealed that after the Rattlers' thrilling 30-26 victory over Howard University in the Cricket Celebration Bowl last season, only one school expressed interest in his services. However, the discussion was brief and ultimately led nowhere.
What changed in the past year between Simmons leading Florida A&M to a SWAC Championship and Celebration Bowl victory? His season at Duke University under head coach Manny Diaz, with whom he and Simmons have a long connection. They worked alongside each other at Middle Tennessee State University from 2007-2009. During that time, Diaz held the position of defensive coordinator while Simmons served as the running backs coach, passing game coordinator, and later as the offensive coordinator. In early December, Diaz was appointed as the new head coach, succeeding Mike Elko, who had become Texas A&M's head coach.
One of Diaz's first hires once he became Duke's head coach was Simmons as running back coach. Despite his success as a head coach, being running back coach at a Blue Devils program that found immense success in the ACC, finishing 9-3. But, in his conversation with Trotter, Simmons signaled that he understood that experience at the FBS level would ultimately hold more weight than FCS success would.
“I was basically given the same message: Unfortunately it doesn’t really matter what you do at the FCS level because of the changing landscape of college athletics and NIL and things of that nature. Getting to the Power 5 level had a lot more weight, so to speak, in the eyes of decision-makers than any success I would have at the FCS level. That was also the feedback from one of the schools that I interviewed with a couple of years ago, from the athletic director. He said my lack of Power 5 experience weighed in the decision to hire who they hired. That person had that experience, and I didn’t.”
Willie Simmons ascension to becoming a G5 coach is the story of talent, timing and opportunity. He was always ready to lead at the FBS level, but the dominoes had to fall the right way for his goal to be achieved. And thats ok, because he will surely show why he should've been here all along.
